Weather Service: Prepare for Colder Weather Next Week

Western Washington residents should brace for several days of frigid
weather starting about the middle of next week, the National Weather
Service said in a special advisory issued this afternoon.

The plunging temperatures are due to an expected shift in the
weather pattern that will introduce a northerly flow of cold air into
Western Washington from the interior of Canada beginning Tuesday or
Wednesday, Jan. 9 or 10.

By this time next week, high temperatures may only range from the
mid-20s to mid-30s, with lows in the teens and 20s.

The cold spell could begin with some lowland snow in the Puget Sound
region late Tuesday or Wednesday, but it is way too early to determine
any snow amounts at this time, the Weather Service said.

The Weather Service encouraged everyone in Western Washington to
closely monitor forecasts in the days ahead as the weather pattern
evolves.

The expected shift to subfreezing weather is the latest twist in a
wild fall and winter season that so far has featured record November
rainfall, a once-a-decade windstorm and an early December cold spell
that broke or tied low temperature records across the Puget Sound
region and prompted school cancellations in Kitsap County.

The Weather Service's special advisory, which applies to the
lowlands of Western Washington from Longview northward, follows:

...A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN IS SLATED FOR NEXT WEEK
THROUGHOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON..

THE WEATHER PATTERN IMPACTING WESTERN WASHINGTON WEATHER IS
ANTICIPATED TO CHANGE AROUND THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. A MORE
NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT IS FORECAST TO BRING A COLDER AIR MASS SOUTH
FROM THE INTERIOR OF WESTERN CANADA.

THE LAST IN A SERIES OF PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEMS IS EXPECTED TO
BRING MORE RAIN TO THE LOWLANDS AND SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS MONDAY
INTO TUESDAY. THEN THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL SHIFT TO A MORE
NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT...INDUCING COLDER AIR SOUTH FROM WESTERN
CANADA.

THE TEMPERATURE CHANGE WILL FEEL DRAMATIC THROUGHOUT WESTERN
WASHINGTON. READINGS ON TUESDAY ARE FORECAST TO BE IN THE 40S
AND THEN PLUNGE INTO THE 30S ON WEDNESDAY. BY THURSDAY...HIGH
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM THE MID 20S TO MID 30S
WITH
LOWS IN THE TEENS AND 20S.

LOWLAND SNOW IS POSSIBLE DURING THE TRANSITION TO THE COLDER
AIR
LATE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. IT IS WAY TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE ANY
SNOW AMOUNTS AT THIS TIME. YET EVERYONE IN WESTERN WASHINGTON IS
ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS AS THIS
WEATHER PATTERN EVOLVES NEXT WEEK.